and catheters, as well as other smooth surfaces like petri-dishes. Researchers found that the cells adhered themselves to the culture vessel without additional appendages, relying on the extracellular material alone.

While consisting mostly of polysaccharides, a slime layer may be over produced such that in a time of famine the cell can rely on the slime layer as extra food storage to survive. In addition, a slime layer may be produced in ground dwelling prokaryotes to prevent unnecessary drying due to